


Dance Away

by EpitomyofShyness



Category: Working at an Amusement Park - Girl_from_the_crypt
Genre: Dancing, Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:28:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23626927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpitomyofShyness/pseuds/EpitomyofShyness
Summary: Aster needs a job, yesterday. Fortunately she's just been hired on as help at the local amusement park. Things get a teensy bit weird though when she meets one of the parks actors during closing, a black-toothed cowboy who loves to laugh.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 30





	Dance Away

Aster needs this job. She’s three weeks from getting tossed out on the street, and she’s already lived that life thank you very much. Her attic above a shitty garage isn’t much but it's  _ her _ not much and it's a locked door between her and the rest of the world. She takes a deep breath, breathing slowly and counting to ten. Then she knocks on the closed door before her, opening it when a grumpy voice calls out for her to come in.

The office inside is messy, but in an organized way. Her hopefully new boss sits behind a desk covered in various papers. His blonde hair is prematurely greyed, dark shadows thick beneath his eyes. He barely glances at her before he starts digging around in one of his drawers.

“You’re that new girl interested in working?” He demands as she steps inside.

“That’s me,” Aster chirps, stepping forward to offer her hand. “You can call me Aster—”

“You’re hired,” he snaps, dropping the paperwork he was looking for onto the desk. “I already did a background check on you after the phone interview. Hurry up and sign those so you have time to get some training before the guests arrive.”

Aster keeps her smile fixed through an effort of will, sitting down and snatching up a pen. She lifts the first page, carefully working her way through each paragraph and sucking on her lip as she parses out the legalese.

“Funny,” Dale interrupts when she’s on page three. He doesn’t sound amused, instead vaguely bitter.

“What’s funny?” Aster hums as she initials the next page.

“You’ve got to be the first person I’ve ever seen actually read through one of those.”

“I like to know what I’m getting myself into,” She shrugs. Before they threw her out, her parents impressed upon her the utmost importance in not signing anything she didn’t understand. The joys of having parents who ran a successful business.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a hoarse chuckle. She glances up and finds Dale smiling. There’s something sad to the twist of his lips, but when he notices her looking it shifts back to a grimace. “Try to read faster, could you?”

She finishes up the paperwork, signing the final line with a scribble that would have made her father fuming mad. “All done!”

“Great,” Dale grunts, taking the paperwork and stuffing it back into a drawer. “Let’s go.”

Dale leads her through Hollywood, which is lovely to look at. The park itself is wonderful, even if an amusement park customer service person is not what Aster always dreamed of being. In this section the stores and restaurants are movie themed, everything glitzy and fun. Right now the streets are nearly deserted, but she spots an older woman wearing a glittering green dress she can’t help the longing in her gaze.

“Hello, dear,” the woman says huskily, offering a smile as she takes one of those long old-fashioned cigarettes out of her mouth. “You look lovely today.”

“Not as lovely as you,” Aster waves, but she can’t stop to chat with Dale chiding her on.

“That’s the Diva,” Dale says once they’re out of earshot. “She’s one of the actors for the park. Don’t bother her or the others, okay? You’re here to work, not play.”

“Got it,” Aster says, rolling her eyes when she’s certain Dale isn’t looking.

Twin Vale Point is where they are headed. It’s wild west themed, dirt roads and wooden porches. Aster hears the clop of horse hooves in the distance, but they head straight for a restaurant towards the middle of the street.

Unlike most of the shops which are still dark this early in the morning, the restaurant has the lights on. Dale jerks the door open and leads the way inside. It’s rustic, plain wood walls, tables and chairs, a smoky scent in the air. There’s a light-hearted piano and violin piece playing over speakers up on the ceiling, western sounding naturally. The counter to place orders lists burgers, hotdogs and ribs along with a few other sundries. 

“Joe!” Dale shouts, tapping his foot impatiently.

A man comes out of the back. He has a narrow frame and long black hair pulled up into a hair net.

“Here’s your new cashier,” Dale snaps, turning away already. The door slams shut behind him, leaving Aster alone with her new sort-of-boss slash coworker.

“Hi.” She says after a moment of silence.

Joe snorts, waving her forward. “Sorry about Dale, he’s really stressed out.” He heads back into the kitchen. “Could you come help me with prep? That was Amara’s job.”

“So, it sounds like I’m doing two people’s jobs now,” Aster smirks as she rolls her sleeves up. “That means I’ll get twice the pay, right?”

Joe laughs and shakes his head. “Hell nah, just means we’ll both be picking up the extra labor.”

She spends the morning helping him get ready, and about a half-hour before opening Joe brings her over to the Twin Vale Point employee room to get dressed.

She’s given the choice of two outfits, both wild-west themed. She settles on the more feminine one, a cute dress that cuts off at the knees and comes with a faux-leather vest over a frilly blue shirt. The leather on lace look is just absolutely adorable, she half wishes she could wear the outfit outside of work without looking ridiculous.

“We’ll be slow until afternoon,” Joe lets her know. “It’s busiest for lunch, another bump around dinner but most people stick with Hollywood for that.”

Aster nods, and greets their first customers excitedly when they stroll in around nine-am. Early park goers who crave fries instead of a normal breakfast, she can relate. Joe cooks them up in quick order, and she delivers the fries with a bright smile and admonition to enjoy their day.

No one told her how long she’s working, but considering how she got hired Aster plans to just to hang around as long as they’ll let her. Her breaks are few and far between, taken whenever another employee can cover for her or Joe. It’s just as he said, busy during lunch and lulling for the rest of the day, with another smaller peak during dinner. 

The park itself is open until ten, which is quickly approaching. Aster’s legs ache from standing all day, but even so the exhaustion she feels is the good satisfied kind. They haven’t had a new customer in thirty minutes, so when Joe asks if she can hold the fort while he smokes out back she tells him no problem. After all, if someone comes in needing an order she can take it, then head out to grab him.

The playful western music blaring through the speakers has a catchy tune, and as boredom sets in she finds her feet twitching. After a moment, Aster slips out from behind the counter and takes a twirl, her skirts flaring around her thighs. 

She closes her eyes and grins, skipping sideways to the beat. Even with her legs burning she can’t resist the urge to dance. She hasn’t really gotten many chances in recent years, she used to do ballet when she was younger. These days she’s always so busy, so even with her exhaustion the music stirs the urge to move until she can’t resist. She side-steps and her shoulder rams into someone’s chest. Her ankle catches on a shoe, and she spills towards the ground with a squeal.

“Shit!” Aster sputters, struggling to right herself and grabbing wildly for anything to stay upright. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry! I didn’t hear you come in—”

The stranger grabbed her waist, and now they drag her upright, lifting her clean off her feet before setting her back down. They don’t answer, snickering quietly. 

“Uh,” She turns around, her cheeks burning. “Seriously, I’m so sorry.”

She has to look up to meet the stranger’s eyes, not surprising since she has to look up to nearly everyone. Still, this fellow is quite tall, and he has to be one of the actors. He’s dressed in typical cowboy attire at least; leather chaps and vest, cowboy hat and boots. He’d look pretty average, were it not for the cleft in his upper lip.

He doesn’t respond, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes. Aster shifts, taking a small step back.

“Um, name’s Aster,” she offers her hand and a smile. “I’m new around here, in case it wasn’t obvious.”

The cowboy grins, revealing black teeth like chips of obsidian. Before she can react he grabs her hand, squeezing her fingers hard when she tries to pull back. As she gapes at him his smile widens, black saliva pooling in the corner of his mouth. It drips over the side of his lip, trailing along his chin.

“Uh,” Aster squeaks. “That’s some pretty impressive make-up ya got going there.”

Unease twists in her stomach. The Cowboy doesn’t release her hand, if anything he tightens his grip. Her pulse thuds as his thumb brushes lightly along the inside of her wrist.

“So, you got a name?” She forces herself to relax, smiling blandly.

He raises his eyebrows at her, his lips quirking in as though to say,  _ ‘Really?’ _ She narrows her eyes.

“Well excuse me for enjoying a little personal space,” she bites out dryly. “But no, no, be my guest! Hang onto that hand as long as you like!”

He blinks at her. For a moment she thinks she’s about to be shouted at, but instead he finally lets go, only to double over laughing. 

She stares in disbelief, then finds her own lips quirking. She brings a hand up to her mouth and giggles.

“Oh God, seriously though I’m sorry,” she gasps once she catches her breath. “I really didn’t mean to sound like a bitch, you just scared the crap out of me.”

He straightens back up, still snickering, but waves a hand as though to say it's nothing. He tilts his head towards the ceiling, pointedly looking in a specific direction. She turns to follow his gaze, frowning at the speaker up on the wall. 

“Oh!” She spins back with a grin. “Hah, yeah, I got bored. We haven’t had any customers in a while and Joe’s outback smoking so, I dunno. Just figured it wouldn’t do any harm.”

The Cowboy grins, and without a word he grabs her hand and jerks her forward. Aster yelps, startled by how strong he is. When his free hand settles on her waist, pulling her so she’s pressed close to his chest, she realizes what he’s planning.

“Whoa there Cowboy,” she says with a wink. “Ya could’a just asked! I’d say yes to dancin’ with a handsome fella like you any time!”

He moves to the side, using his hand to guide her steps in time with his. She doesn’t know the moves, but she doesn’t mind letting him lead. He moves faster than she did, leaving her with no choice but to trust each step he takes. Her heart pounds, her head spinning as she gasps for breath. Still, her face splits into a smile, laughter spilling from her lips when he twirls her around.

The bell on the door jingles, and the Cowboy twists so her back is pressed to his chest. His hands come to rest on her shoulders, his chin resting on top of her head. A new fellow enters the restaurant, out of breath and red-cheeked, dressed in a sheriff get-up with a golden star pinned to his vest.

“What the hell?!” He demands, glaring over Aster’s head. “Jesus, I leave you alone for five fucking minutes and you run off to terrify the new help?!”

The Cowboy’s hands squeeze her shoulders. She feels him shrug behind her. She frowns, her heart still beating wildly.

“Uh, everything’s fine,” she waves to the sheriff guy. “Seriously. I’m Aster. Everything’s good.”

The sheriff gives her a once over as though checking to make sure she isn’t hurt. “Mitchell,” he introduces himself at last. 

The Cowboy wraps his arms around her, still completely silent. Mitchell’s expression darkens as his glare refocuses on the man still holding her.

“Right.” Aster shifts in place, trying to subtly step away from the Cowboy, but his grip tightens up.

“Uh, I need to, you know, finish cleaning up.” She explains. “Also I’m like, dead tired. I’ve been up since like five am so…”

The Cowboy steps back without warning, using his grip on her shoulder to turn her back to face him. He gives her an exaggeratedly apologetic look, tapping her cheek and pouting as though to say,  _ ‘I didn’t mean to bother you.’ _ Aster can’t help smiling and laughing, shaking her head and waving a hand.

“No biggy,” she says. “I’ll be able to finish up soon enough, and Joe should be back any minute.”

Mitchell steps forward, grabbing the Cowboy’s arm with a grunt. “Let’s go,” he snaps. “Now.”

The Cowboy sticks his black tongue out, a few specks of saliva dripping to the floor. Aster stares, another flicker of unease swirling in her gut.

As Mitchell pulls him away, the Cowboy tips his hat to Aster with a grin. She waves and smiles, biting her lip and fighting the inexplicable urge to flee out the back door. Once the door shuts she heads back into the kitchen. As she sets to washing the dishes, she notices her hands are shaking. She shrugs it off. After all, she needs this job, and today was really nice. Her co-workers are wonderful, the atmosphere is lovely. It’s just crazy good make-up, that’s all.


End file.
